Pre-Christmas shootings stun Valley Springs residents

Six motorists were shot at Tuesday while driving in the Valley Springs area, in apparently random but related attacks.

A possibly related drive-by shooting about a week ago at a residence two miles south of downtown Valley Springs on Highway 26 is also being investigated by the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Department.
 

No injuries were reported.   

The pre-Christmas shootings have stunned the small community, leaving some fearing for their safety.

“I’m going to leave early tonight because I’m kind of a little worried about it,” said Linda Belli, owner of Hoof N Boots Saddlery, at the intersection of highways 12 and 26, reportedly within sight of some of the shootings.

 “I’m going to get out of here before dark.”

In response to the shootings, the Sheriff’s Department is deploying all available patrol cars to the Valley Springs area, the report said.

The shootings come amid a multi-person plot to build and detonate bombs in Valley Springs. That plan was discovered earlier this month when deputies stumbled across a pipe bomb after a foot chase. Several people were arrested.

The shooter in all of Tuesday’s incidents is believed to have fired from a vehicle, either while passing the victim or while stopped at the side of the road. One of the victims said the shooter was driving a light-colored late model sedan.

The bullets from the attack all came from a small caliber weapon, officials said.

Four of the six Tuesday shootings happened during the early morning commute hours, according to a department report released Wednesday.

About 5:15 a.m., a 37-year-old woman was driving to work on Hartvickson Lane when her vehicle’s driver’s side window shattered.

After pulling over, she found a bullet hole in the driver’s side door just below the window, the report said.

Neither the woman nor a family member following behind her reported seeing any vehicles pass her.

Next, about 5:45 a.m., a 49-year-old woman was traveling west on Highway 12 near Evans Road when she heard a loud bang. She thought at the time that her tires had kicked up a rock.

Later, she discovered a bullet hole in the driver’s side passenger door. She reported she had passed a vehicle traveling east on Highway 12, but said it was too dark to make out any details.

At 5:55 a.m., a 52-year-old woman driving east on Highway 26 near St. Andrews was shot at.
 

Deputies recovered a bullet that had traveled through the vehicle’s hood and lodged in the engine compartment. Again, the victim said a vehicle had passed hers, but the light was too dim to identify make or color.

The last attack of the morning came at 6:10 a.m., when a bullet struck the side mirror of a car traveling west on Highway 26 near Silver Rapids.

The 49-year-old driver said he did not see any passing vehicles.

The next attack did not come until 10:30 p.m., when a 55-year-old man driving east on Highway 26 near Vista Del Lago Road saw an approaching car with its high beams on — making identification impossible.

There was a loud bang as the car passed and the vehicle’s window shattered, the man said.

Another attack occurred about 20 minutes later, around 10:50 p.m. A 37-year-old man traveling west on Highway 26 near Jenny Lind Approach Road saw a flash as a vehicle passed on Highway 26. Then his driver’s and passenger’s windows shattered.

The man pulled to the side of the road, but saw that the vehicle that had passed him had also stopped. Fearing for his safety, he drove out of the area. The victim provided the department’s only description of the vehicle.

Investigators have recovered bullets from two of the shootings.

There is no apparent link between the victims or a motive for the attacks, according to the report.